Fan Expo Canada is an annual four-day convention held in Toronto host to tons of exciting panels from some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. This year’s convention was held August 30th-September 2nd. Basic Stuff Magazine was lucky enough to attend Saturday’s screening and panel for NBC’s new TV series Manifest.
Manifest is a compelling tale about a family who is separated on two different airplanes in 2013. One of the planes seemingly disappears only to land five years later in the present day, but to the passengers on board, nothing appears out of the ordinary aside from some turbulence. Now the families must rebuild their lives and adjust to a new normal that may or may not involve supernatural forces.
Cast members Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh (who play siblings Ben and Michaela Stone respectively), as well as Executive Producer Jeff Rake, were in attendance for a Q&A panel after an exclusive screening of the premiere. They discussed the show from concept to production, the emotional aspect of the series, and, of course (with a name like Josh Dallas attached to the project), Once Upon a Time was bound to come up. Here are some of the highlights.
Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, and Jeff Rake at Fan Expo Canada 2018 (Andrea Dixon)
On the concept and future of the show
The concept for the series initially came from a trip Jeff Rake took with his family ten years ago: “I wasn’t on a plane, I was in a minivan, just driving with my family to the Grand Canyon. I was thinking about – to be honest with you – I was trying to think about a big idea ‘cause I was an out-of-work TV writer. But I was thinking about family, and togetherness, and separation; and the worst and best part of being together; and that took me to travel and vacation; and then, like a ton of bricks, it hit me: what if a family got separated on two airplanes like that?” Jeff pitched this idea all around Hollywood with no success and it was shelved for years until Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 made headlines in 2014. The plane went missing and the mystery about what happened still remains unsolved today. “I dusted that old idea off again,” Jeff said, “which – they never let you do that; they always have to have the new idea – but I went to my bosses at Warner Brothers and I said, ‘Hey, here’s an old idea, but I think it’s compelling,’ and here we are.”
The show was originally pitched as a six-season arc with an endgame in sight. Jeff works with eight writers in LA and New York, and only the writers and a couple of studio network executives know everything. Josh and Melissa said that they prefer to keep things on a need-to-know basis, wanting to discover the mystery along with their characters and the audience. Season 1 will contain thirteen episodes.
On how Josh Dallas got attached to the project
There seems to be running themes that Josh admittedly keeps returning to in his work. “In some ways, they have similar themes to them – Once and Manifest – because I think that they are about second chances,” he said, “and I think they are about hope. And I think they are about [how] the decisions that you make define your character.” But he did point out that Ben “is a flawed human, like all of us, and trying to figure out his way in the world,” while Prince Charming is, well, Prince Charming.
Beyond do-overs and second chances, Josh was also drawn to the role by the idea that all of the characters “have these interrupted lives, and how they try to crawl their way around to getting those lives back or not.” He also was intrigued by “the dynamic of brother and sister” he shares with his co-star.
On the emotional aspect and Melissa’s character
Melissa was similarly drawn to her character, Michaela, because of her flaws, but also because of her tenacity. “That’s what I love so much about Michaela,” the actress said, “is that she is this really interesting human being who’s gone through a lot of tragedies, but still keeps trying constantly. So, in the first episode, we see her lose her mom, her fiancée, she’s lost her friend, now her other friend has married her fiancée… She’s doing great, guys!”
Speaking more on the emotional aspect of the series, Jeff added that the idea is to keep the drama and emotion alive throughout. “It’s a tricky thing to follow a premise pilot like this, right?” he said. “I mean, we’ve all seen these premise pilots where the big event happens, and then how do you keep alive the tension, the suspense, the magnitude, the scope? And that’s very challenging.” He hinted at a potential supernatural element, which is one of the show’s key mysteries, but he also stressed the importance of the relationship drama with the utilization of “two juicy relationship triangles.” No spoilers here, but “one is clearly established in the pilot” while the other pops up at the end.
On how Josh and Melissa prepared for their roles
“Well, Ben is a mathematician. I do a lot of long division,” Josh joked when asked about preparing for his role. But both he and Melissa praised the writing for being what really helped them both feel ready to tackle the complicated lives of their characters.
Melissa also told us that she spent some time at a precinct in New York to help her prepare since her character is a cop.
On filming the pilot and production
The best part about filming the pilot for Melissa? The dogs. Several times, she and Josh found themselves acting opposite canine co-stars, and in cold New York conditions no less. But for Josh, there were many other scenes that stood out for him as well, including the scene where the families meet back up again at the airport terminal, a scene with his daughter (played by Luna Blaise) in a soccer field, and one with Melissa in a church. Keep an eye out for these scenes of human connection and the inexplicable question marks that surround these characters.
The pilot episode was filmed back in March. Jeff explained the logistics of network television and how it affects their production schedule. “When you shoot a pilot, it’s kind of on spec, and the studio pays for it, but you don’t know if it’s gonna get on the air. So, we got the good news in May,” he said. He also pointed out that one of the downsides of being an actor for TV in this situation is that “you’re just kind of sitting on your butt, you’re not allowed to take another job, you’re just waiting to find out if they’re gonna need you for more episodes.” The production is currently in the middle of filming Episode 5.
Stay tuned for more of our coverage from Fan Expo Canada 2018 coming soon!
Manifest premieres September 24, 2018 10/9c on NBC.
